If you have followed us on social media or on our email list, you may have seen posts and shares about our HGTV Magazine Feature in the June 2020 issue.
For any designer, this is a career highlight, and especially for me since my entry into the world of interior design started with HGTV.
It was back in 1998 and I was newly single with a baby girl; she was about 6 months at the time. I had gotten my first little apartment and was in the process of furnishing it. I happened upon HGTV one day as I was surfing channels, and I was intrigued by what I was seeing.
The shows back then were very educational, and as I was learning how to decorate my colorful apartment, I was also discovering my own natural talent for interior design. Those experiences led me to seeking out interior design education and information and eventually making it a career in 2006.
So imagine my excitement when I got an email back in December 2019 from HGTV Magazine about a possible feature of two of my projects - including my home. Yes! The answer was a definite YES!
They reached out to me after seeing this feature in the November 2019 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Read more about this powder room reveal HERE
They were interested in one of my client's home, (that unfortunately we weren't able to make happen in that timeframe), as well as my home. I sent them the professional photos of each room as scouting shots.
The shoot was scheduled for February and a lot of planning happened on their end before their team arrived on site. Their team consists of a photographer, Chris and his assistant and stylists, Jennifer and Kara. Very professional and a lot of fun.
I also had the opportunity to talk to the writer before and after the shoot, as well as a fact-checker. I was so impressed at how detailed and thorough their team is.
A few days before the shoot, boxes of props arrive. The day before the shoot, one of the stylists came by to look at the space and to assess what they will need on the day of the shoot. She prepared me for what to expect and assured me that everything will be handled by their team without any major disruption to our lives and routine.
The stylists job is to style each space in a way that would relate to their readers. It was so much fun watching someone else do the styling of a space for once. Their goal was to show a lifestyle, as that is what their readers relate to.
On the day of the shoot, they show up ready! Lots of equipment, props, flowers, accessories. We didn't take a lot of photos and videos of the crew and their activity so as to maintain their privacy, but there was a lot going on.
Lots of flowers!! Haha
The shoot itself lasted two days. On day one, I brought in my makeup artist, and the kids and I got all dolled up for the shoot. They took a lot of photos of us. Haha.
I have to admit that it was slightly nerve wrecking to watch the team pull all the rooms apart and restyle them the way they wanted to, but they were so great about documenting the way things were set up, and they put things back exactly the way they were before. It was amazing to watch, and I could tell that they had done this a million times before.
Some of the styling is quite a bit different from my personal way to style my home, but again, they are appealing to their audience.
This is what the vignette in the first photo actually looks like in my home. I love books and I have a ton, so they are even piled up on the floor - just the way I love it, but I am sure that would be too much for their general readers.
You can see more photos of this space HERE
Here's the way the stylists styled the living room.
This is what it looks like in real life. There are two of those cheetah chairs plus two wing back chairs and two of the gingham ottomans.
I actually personally like my living spaces to be very intimate with the furniture arrangement, but I can also see that it looks great with less pieces in the room
This is the way the dining room and kitchen were styled for the magazine. Some blue color was added behind the glass cabinets.
Here we were making tacos for the shoot. This was so much fun to shoot! Trying to keep a straight face with the kids "making tacos" was hilarious in itself. The team got a kick out it too. They actually treated us to taco for lunch that day......and not the ones we made. Lol
Here is the dining room and kitchen in real life. Learn more about my kitchen HERE
This is how my master bedroom and bathroom were styled for the shoot
Here are those spaces in real life. See more about the spaces HERE
The master bedroom is more layered and lush in real life. The stylists were going for something a bit more simple and so they removed the seating area at the foot of the bed and scaled back the pillows on the bed.
Same for the master bathroom; they were going for a more casual version with the addition of the bath rug and flowers.
These are the kids rooms styled for the shoot
These are the spaces in real life.
It is so much fun to see how different they look with the same pieces
I love the lighter pink they added to the daybed. So fresh! I love that they used one of Josh's art pieces on the nightstand off to the right of the shot
They shot the upstairs loft but it didn't make the feature
I had to go back to the office on day two of the shoot, but I believe that the laundry room and secondary bathroom were also shot but they didn't make it for the feature.
It is certainly a proud moment to receive a 10 page spread in a major national magazine. That is an opportunity I prayed for many times - especially when I first started out many years ago.
And on top of that, the cover photo includes my good friend and someone I truly admire, Tiffany Brooks, along with Jonathan Scott (one half of the Property Brothers) and Christina Anstead
Here's one final page from the magazine feature, where HGTV provides resources on how their readers can also get the look of my living room. You can snag the look too :-)
This goes to show that you can use styling items in your own home to change up the look every so often. Whether you do it seasonally or once a year or at whatever pace that works for you. If you invest in great foundation pieces, you only need to switch out accessories to achieve a whole new look
It was an absolute pleasure having the team here. They made it look so easy and they made sure we were comfortable with the whole process. I definitely would do that again!
You can pick up a copy on newsstands now, or subscribe to the magazine.
Head to the press page of our website to catch a few other features we received this month. A great article in Architectural Digest online and a feature of my master bedroom in Business Of Home Magazine Spring 2020 issue
Thanks for checking out the backstory of our HGTV Magazine feature.
Wishing You Beauty And Inspiration!
Veronica
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